It was no mosh pit, but Larry Morgan's team celebrates on the starting line.  (Ron Lewis photo)

Then came the exciting final round, Morgan's third of the year since switching to Chevrolet and partnering with FireAde and Gray Motorsports.

"I am really pleased to have a good Chevrolet Camaro with great power," Morgan said. "I raced a Ford for five years and we didn't have the support we needed. We got the support this year we needed from Johnny (Gray), FireAde, Lucas Oil, and Streamlight. Lucas Oil has helped me for a long time, and I owe a lot to Forrest and Charlotte Lucas and all the people there.

"But I have gotten a lot of support from a lot of different people, and without them I wouldn't be up here. I am very proud to be up here."

It took an epic final round battle against Larry Morgan to end Allen Johnson's three-year reign at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals (as well as six wins in the last eight years). Still, the "Magneti Marelli Offered by Mopar" Dodge Dart driver can hold his head high after reaching his ninth straight final at his sponsor's race, and tenth overall. The final round showing was also his fourth of the year and the 55th of his career.

Johnson started from the No. 1 spot for the sixth time in his career at Bandimere Speedway thanks to a track-record 6.877-second elapsed time (ET) in qualifying. The J&J Racing owner/driver had the luxury of an unopposed first round run and used the clock as his competition, recording the second quickest run of the round with a 6.907-second elapsed time at 199.49 mph — his first sub-200 mph pass of the weekend.

In the quarterfinals, Johnson drove to a comfortable victory over Drew Skillman with a 6.905/200.05 to earn a berth in the semifinals. The 2012 Pro Stock series champ ran a 6.930/199.14 to best Shane Gray's 6.948/199.20 and earn a place in a space he hasn't been missing from since 2006 — the final round at the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.

Johnson met Morgan in the money round, a repeat of the final at the most recent NHRA stop in Joliet, Illinois, which Johnson won. The pair waged an old-school "burndown" battle in staging, taking more than a minute-and-a-half to light both bulbs. Morgan left first off the line with an .014 reaction time to Johnson's still-solid .035, giving him enough to score a holeshot win despite Johnson's quicker 6.930/199.23 to Morgan's 6.944/199.02.